As the Pot Reaches $13 Million Lottery Attracts New Bettors

Do you dream of owning your own 747 jumbo jet' How about an airforce bomber or a luxury hotel? If yes, then this week's Megabucks lottery is for you.

David Ellis of the Massachusetts State Lottery says that at $13 million, this week's lottery is offering the second largest prize in the history of North America--and people are flocking to stores to try their luck.

Jim Finn of Out-of-Town News in Cambridge describes the onslaught as "non-stop" "All kinds [of people] are playing who have never played before," he adds.

If no one chooses the correct combination of numbers for each week's lottery, the prize is added to the following week's pot. This week's amount has accumulated for several weeks.

Yesterday, a line of about five or six people stretched through Out-of-Town News during most of the afternoon, waiting to buy tickets Most of the purchasers were newcomers, many spent five minutes attempting to understand the instructions written on the tickets.

"I don't even know how much one of these things cost," said Francis Caylon of Cambridge, one lottery hopeful

Poor Record

"I've only won one free ticket in all the years I've played, but I'm not gonna miss this one," said another purchaser

According to Ellis, more people are taking the gamble this week than ever before. In a normal week, he explains, the lottery raises about $2 million Last week, almost $5.6 million in tickets were sold, and Ellis says this week the grand total may be even higher.

But if you're starting to dream about $13 million, don't get your hopes up too quickly. The odds for this week's record lottery are almost two million to one, Ellis says.